The present invention relates to a three-piece golf ball having a core and a two-layer cover composed of an inner cover layer and an outer cover layer. More specifically, the invention relates to a three-piece solid golf ball which has a high initial velocity on shots taken with a driver and a good spin performance on approach shots.
Numerous golf balls with a three-piece construction that is hard on the inside and soft on the outside, including those described in the publications cited below, have hitherto been disclosed as solid golf balls which address the needs of professional golfers and skilled amateurs. Moreover, some of these prior-art golf balls are also improved in terms of spin properties, flight performance and durability.    JP-A 7-24085    JP-A 9-215775 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,563)    JP No. 3661812 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,707)    JP-A 10-151226 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,822)    JP-A 2002-191721    JP-A 2002-219196    JP No. 2910516 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,852)    JP No. 3516123 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,028)    JP No. 3516124 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,692)    JP No. 3516125 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,694)    JP No. 3601582 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,695)    JP-A 2002-85588 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,345)    JP-A 2002-85589 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,008)    JP-A 2002-85587 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,986)    JP-A 2002-186686 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,347)    JP No. 3674679 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,683)    JP-A 2002-765 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,791)    JP-A 2002-315848 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,470)    JP-A 2003-190330 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,814,676)    JP-A 2004-049913 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,507)    JP-A 2004-97802 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,694)    JP-A 2002-345999 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,059)    JP-A 2005-224514    JP-A 2005-224515    U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,889
However, the improvements achieved in the foregoing three-piece solid golf balls still fall short in some respects. Further improvements are desired in the balance between total distance traveled by the ball on shots with a W#1 and spin controllability, and in durability.
In addition, various golf balls with multilayer covers have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,833,553, 6,126,559, 6,220,972, 6,561,928 and 6,309,314. However, these prior-art golf balls do not have a good spin receptivity on approach shots near the green.